The makers of the Devilman Crybaby anime are teasing an upcoming “important announcement” that will be revealed during the Blu-Ray celebration in May of 2018, so will the second season be confirmed soon? The prospect of watching the anime Devilman Crybaby Season 2 may seem impossible based on the ending of Episode 10, but it turns out there is a little loophole built into the mythos of the Devilman manga series which would allow for a Netflix anime sequel. What’s more, even if a direct sequel does not feature the Devilman Crybaby characters Akira Fudo and Ryo Asuka, it’s still possible to do a new anime adaptation of the many Devilman manga spinoffs, including Demon Knight, Violence Jack, or Devil Lady (also known as the Devilman Lady manga series).

Warning: Major spoilers are contained in this article.

The Devilman Crybaby anime is based on the 1970s manga series by Go Nagai. Director Masaaki Yuasa faithfully adapted the main plot points of the manga, taking the story all the way to its controversial conclusion. Just like in the original, all of Akira’s friends and family, including Miki Makimura, are killed by an insane human mob. When Psycho Jenny restores Ryo’s true memories as Satan, Akira and his Devilman army take the war to the demons.

In the manga, this war lasted 20 long years, and Akira eventually lets himself be killed by Satan. The loss of Satan/Ryo’s only friend sends the fallen angel into a deep depression since Akira was the only person he’d ever loved. Similarly, the Devilman Crybaby anime shows the aftermath of this tragic conflict but does not set the stage for what could come next.

The reason that Devilman Crybaby Season 2 is possible is due to the Devilman time loop theory. In the manga, God creates a time loop by restoring the Earth only to have Satan suffer eternal punishment by reliving the death of the resurrected Akira over and over again. Some fans believe that the Earth’s two moons in the final scene in the new anime are symbolic of this time reset since the original primordial Earth destroyed by God in Episode 1 did not have a moon. Others believe it’s simply the old moon split in half during the final battle between Akira and Ryo.

Akira and Ryo meet the end of the world together.Featured image credit: Netflix'Devilman Crybaby' Anime TV Still

Technically, Devilman Crybaby Season 2 could be an original story that portrays the next cycle in the ongoing conflict in a new way. The story could focus on Satan escaping the time loop and give a happier ending for Ryo and Akira. There are also several books, one-shot manga, and side stories that could serve as source material for ideas.

One option is the newer Devilman G (Grimoire) manga series (2012 to 2014) by manga author Takato Rui, but that manga was a retelling of the story that changes so many critical details that it’d conflict with the Devilman Crybaby anime. Therefore, a Devilman Crybaby sequel would probably focus on Devilman Lady/Devil Lady and Devilman Saga since they’re the official canon sequels to the original Devilman manga series.

The Devil Lady Anime And Devilman Saga Manga Are The Official Sequels To The Devilman Story

The Devil Lady manga (1997 to 2000) is focused on Jun Fudo, a former Olympic swimming champion and supermodel who is now a teacher in her 20s. When Jun and her students are attacked by Devil Beasts, her transformation into codename Devilman Lady is kickstarted by Lan Asuka, who turns out to be her half-sister. Working together, the two women hunt down Devil Beasts as part of the Human Alliance, a secret government organization which attempts to eliminate or control demons.

One mission results in Jun traveling to Hell, where she meets the Devilman Akira Fudo. Since this story takes place in a reset time loop, residual memories of the Devilman linger in the minds of humanity, and there are actually in-story media portraying the Devilman. Akira has been trapped in Hell along with demons like Sirene, Kaim, and Zennon.

It also turns out that Psycho Jenny helped Satan escape the time loop, but the method employed is quite the plot twist, so this article won’t spoil the surprise. In response to this escape, God sent the Archangel Michael to deal with the problem. Satan and a reluctant Akira eventually join forces to fight back.

The only negative to adapting this story as Devilman Crybaby Season 2 is that some fans consider the Devilman Lady manga series to be subpar. The Devil Lady anime was already released in the late 90s, so making the story a Netflix Original would be a reboot. The ending of the story is also inconclusive, leaving fans not knowing what happened in the end, but a new anime original ending based on the ongoing Devilman Saga manga series (2014 to present) could provide a final resolution to the main conflict.

The story of the Devilman Saga manga is set not too far in the future of the restored Earth. The manga features a robotics scientist named Yuki Fudo who finds ancient technology buried in Antarctica. Yuki bonds with the demon armor of Amon and learns to control it. Meanwhile, terrorists are using robots to commit bombings and Yuki’s wife, TV journalist Miki Fudo, is investigating the global threat. Fans are hoping that 72-year-old Go Nagai will finish the trilogy off by stopping the cycle of destruction and resurrection and providing a happy ending.

Parts of the story have been adapted into the 'Violence Jack' anime OVA collection.Featured image credit: Studio Soei Shinsha'Violence Jack' Anime Cover

Violence Jack Manga Is Set In An Alternate Timeline

Another option for making Devilman Crybaby Season 2 is to adapt the Violence Jack manga series, which Go Nagai also wrote in the early 1970s. Technically, the story is not a direct sequel to the Devilman manga series, but it does take place on an alternate Earth where the planet was restored after Akira and Ryo’s climactic battle. An event called the Kanto Hell Quake (no relation to Hellshake Yano) caused Tokyo to split off from mainland Japan.

This desolate walled-off island is fought over by a Slum King, who coincidentally owns two dogs named Miki Makimura and Ryo Asuka. The rules of the wasteland are also similar to the Hell in Devil Lady, although that story was written many years later. However, the Devilman references are limited at first and the story is focused on the man named Violence Jack.

Violence Jack earns his name for the violence surrounding him and the large jack knife that he carries. Violence Jack suffers from amnesia, but he helps the weak and takes sides in battles for former Tokyo. Late in the story, it’s eventually revealed that Violence Jack is a reborn Devilman. God had remade Tokyo to serve as a prison for Satan by reducing the fallen angel to the form of a mute dog. When Satan eventually figures out how to rise again, Violence Jack gathers a human army to fight back.

The biggest positive to adapting the Violence Jack manga as Devilman Crybaby Season 2 is that only a few story arcs were made into three OVA episodes in the 1980s. It also offers a conclusive ending in comparison to Devil Lady. The biggest negative is that Violence Jack’s story is largely disconnected from the overarching Devilman plot until the very end. The story also pushes even Netflix’s boundaries since the plot involves rape, necrophilia, and cannibalism.

Demon Knight Manga Offers A Prequel To The Devilman Crybaby Anime

The final major option for making Devilman Crybaby Season 2 is to use the Demon Knight manga series (2007 to 2009) as source material for a prequel. While the new Devilman Crybaby anime did explain that the demons of the first Earth had the ability to merge with other creatures for gaining powers, what the anime failed to mention is that demons started as a failed genetic experiment. The demonic experiments have escaped the mountain in which they were sealed and invaded paradise.

The overall story explains how Satan was created, but that’s not how it begins. Instead, the plot focuses on prince Lucifer (who is not Satan) ruling over God’s paradise with his Demon Knights Amon and Sirene at his side. Unlike their future incarnations, the two appear like humans wearing fantasy armor and they ride dragons. A young human woman named Yuria (whose wardrobe apparently came from the Adam and Eve collection) and the werewolf Urga fled the demon invasion only to join Lucifer to fight back against the demon hordes.

The plot also ties directly back to the Devilman Crybaby anime since Akira experiences these memories from Amon as a dream. Even Ryo has the dream, and this experience had an effect on events that were not covered by the new anime.

The manga series was never adapted into a Demon Knight anime, but the story may not be the best candidate for Devilman Crybaby Season 2 since it’s only three manga chapters long. If anything, it’s probably best adapted as a standalone animated Devilman movie, or as opening episodes to the Netflix anime sequel that provide more backstory.

[Update April 13, 2018] Added the teaser of the “important announcement” for the Devilman Crybaby anime franchise.